The Story Of A Young Olympic Rider
by TimeToFlyLusa
Summary: Lusa is a professional horse rider, but a horrid accident leaves both her and her horse handicapped. So, she does what all fallen celebs do, she goes undercover, but will this be the end of her riding career, and her friendship with her beautiful horse?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When you ride a horse, you borrow freedom. That is what my mum always told me. I had always loved horses dearly. I got my first pony, a shetland named Nemo, when I was 4. I started riding when I was 3, and started jumping at the age of 5. My mum said I was a natural. And I was. With perfect form, graceful movement, and harmony, I was the perfect rider. When I was 7, I won my first horse show on my Appaloosa pony, Princess Teddy Bear Pony, with a total of 19.3 points out of twenty, over 4 small cross rails measuring 1'2. In the following years I upgraded a lot. By the age of 9, I was jumping four foot rails on Teddy, a thoroughbred cross gelding standing 15.3hh. When I was 11, I Qualified for The English Sectionals, a national horse show held in Kentucky, where teenagers compete against others in Dressage, Cross Country, and Show Jumping. I was the youngest rider, I won first with a whopping 172 points out of 180 total. The following year, when I was Thirteen, my mum bought me a beautiful black friesian stallion standing almost 17.2 hh. Magyke was the most amazing horse ever.[enter more descrip bout Magyke] Then, on my birthday, a strange man showed up and my mum told me to do some of the five foot verticals in the arena on Magyke. The man handed me a slip of paper, told me I scored 87%, and said he'd send a trainer to me right away. I was 14, and I qualified for the olympics. I was 15 when I took gold at the 2006 summer olympics with my team. My mum said she was so proud of me. She would always say "Lusa, when you ride, it is like watching god paint the sky". I would always tell her it was incredibly rude and unchristian it was for her to say that, but she said it was true. I was amazed how quickly my talent spread. It was like a bush fire. I got loads of invites to giant celeb parties, and a gazillion little girls would be emailing me 24/7 asking for riding tips. It was fun at first, but then it got annoying.

"Lusa, we are gonna be late!" My mum screamed. Grr, flashback over. I was standing in my room, still in my pj's. The sunrise illuminated the lavender walls of my room, and the 40 something horses in giant posters were glaring at me, almost saying, "Lusa! You still have to load Magyke, and you know how bad he is about that!" Magyke. My dream, but when it came to trailers, he could seriously hurt someone. I threw on a t-shirt and some pink sweats and grabbed my bag. I shoved some classic ties, my helmet, my crop, a black jacket, my best jodhpurs, and my boots in it, and ran downstairs. I paused at the top of the stairs, and glared at the picture of Magyke above the window. He was rearing up, and there were already dents in the trailer. That was the first time we tried to load him, Dad was holding the camera. It was like the picture was just taunting me, "He he he , you have to load Magyke! Good luck! What do you want me to put on your grave stone? Killed by my crazy horse?" I couldn't imagine Magyke killing me, maybe a ear of corn, but not me! I quickly brushed my long wavy brown hair behind my ear. I nearly stumbled going downstairs, but caught myself. I hurried to the cupboard, grabbed a pop tart, and ran outside. I walked up to the truck that read, CrestWood Stables, and threw my bag in the back seat. I turned south east and headed towards a large white barn with red shingles. I pulled open the door, silently cursing myself as my elbow popped when forcing it open. I had opened a path to heaven. A long row of stalls, where beautiful chestnut and bay and brown and black heads stuck out to greet me. I inhaled, and the sweet scent of hay, wood, saddle soap, leather, grain, manure, and the thick heavy smell of horses filled my nose. This smell, is what I woke up in the morning for. The barn was fairly large, 20 stalls 2 aisles, 5 stalls on each side, same old same old. A large tack room complete with shiny Casey D. saddles ruled the back portion of the barn, while 3 large wash stalls filled the space just left of the door. I grabbed Magyke's huge metal reinforced lead, and headed to the back stalls. Instantaneously, a large black head with a silky nose poked out, and whinnied at me. I walked over and reached up to straighten the mass of bangs he had. His eyes were just eyeing the lead saying, "Oh my goodness, you better not be loading me into the metal dungeon that moves on spinning feet!". I laughed at his facial expression. He just yawned in return. I slid open the metal latches that confined him to the large box stall, and slid inside. I hooked the lead onto his bright red halter. Red is the best color for black horses, mum says. It highlights their facial features.I lead him out of the stall and headed towards the shallow light coming from the tack room. I hooked Magyke's shank to a grooming stall just a couple feet away, and opened the tack room door. I went over to a cupboard and pulled out four rolls of red wraps, and four rolls of wrapped cotton. I also grabbed a giant red blanket that read "Magyke" on my way out. I slid my hand down Magyke's front left leg and pulled out a roll of the wrapped cotton. Trailers can hurt a horse's leg if they kick anything, and I wanted to protect Magyke. I wrapped it around his leg, just below the fetlock and up to the elbow. Then I put the red wrap over that, and secured it with a clasp. I did the same for the rest of his giant legs. His feathers got in the way though. He was a Friesian horse, and Friesians have extra fur on their feet because they are draft horses. We call the fur "feathers". Don't worry, he isn't a pegasus or anything. I slid the blanket over his silky fur and secured all seven clasps. Now, the hard part: Loading him. Unloading was easy, he practically gallops out, but loading him is like trying to get a mouse to shake hands with a cat. As I lead Magyke outside, My mum was sliding out the trailer ramp from underneath the truck. Her blonde hair was waving in the wind, making her look like an angel.

"Come on hun," she said "We have 15 minutes to get him loaded, and his record is 22, so get a move on!" I cautiously proceeded toward the trailer, only to be jerked into the air by Magyke.

"Stop it! Silly boy, it is just a trailer!" I tried again, and again. Soon he was rearing and neighing like someone was loading him into a slaughter trailer. Jeez! I walked up the ramp, this time pulling with all my might, and for the first time ever, he followed me inside.

"Wow," I said, "That was actually pretty easy! Who are you? And what have you done with my horse?" I clipped his double shank to the trailer clasp, and opened the little shutter in the window, so I could talk to him while my mom was driving. It was the only way to keep him calm. I walked back down the ramp, being careful not to startle him, and closed the door behind me. I went inside to double check everything was turned off and went back outside. I climbed into the cab of the truck, and our journey began.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

We were 6 hours into driving, but we still had 2 more to go. "Why couldn't we just take a plane?" I thought. Magyke was getting restless, and so was I. I had been staring at green rolling hills for the past 6 hours, and If I ever see a mass of green hills again, it'll be too soon. I thought I could make out a little truck stop on the horizon, but why would you have a truck stop in the middle of no where? Mum seemed to be reading my mind.

"What the muck is that!" She exclaimed. We always used the word muck now instead of the "f" word, because my mum thinks it is more "ladylike". Which technically, it is.

"I am not sure mum, but I am so restless I could jump into the sky!"

"Me too, want a burger? You can also take Magyke for a little hack to stretch out his muscles."

"Sure, I think that is a good idea." I replied. The truck stop was fairly large, now that we could clearly see it. But it had graffiti and trash everywhere. A plump black women stood outside smoking a cigarette.

"Can I help Ya'll?" She asked us as we got out of the truck. I Was eager to stretch my muscles, and did a couple of quad flexes and arm stretches before I started walking after mum towards the lady.

"Yes, we have traveled fairly far and we would like to stop and eat and maybe exercise our horse. Is that okay?" Mum asked.

"Well I got burgers in the back, and we got some booths in de restaurant, but I ain't know bout exercising a horse, I ain't never seen one out here, so be cautious, cause rascally young boys always parading down in these parts." She threw down her cigarette and stomp on it with her little heel.

"Come on inside, make yourself comfortable."

"Sure," Mum said "Go take out Magyke and make sure to be cautious, don't over work him, and be back in an hour. I'll order your usual."

"Okay!" I called after her, already bounding back down the parking lot to the truck, I loved riding so much! I eagerly opened the silver latch and slid it open. I slid open the door to see a great view of Magyke's butt, all nice and shiny. I laughed. He snorted. I ducked under the trailer and grabbed the thin white rope that I used to pull out the ramp. I slid out the ramp and climbed up. "Hey Magyke! How you doing baby boy? Wanna go for a ride? I thought so..," I walked past him and unlatched his lead from the clasp, then I turned him around and lead him outside the trailer. He almost bolted, so eager to stretch his legs and get out of the "dungeon". I hooked his lead to the side of the truck and went back inside the trailer to grab a tackle box. I set it down, the soft brush's bristles gently brushing my hand, sending a shiver down my spine. I walked around Magyke and unlatched all seven clasps of his large red blanket. It was odd to see such a majestic horse here in the "ghetto" at a old broken down truck stop with graffiti everywhere. I leaned down, my hand on his leg, and grabbed the curry comb from the tackle box. I used the curry comb and brushed in circular motions all down his body, starting from his neck, then to his body, then to his legs. After that, I put down the curry comb and grabbed the next brush, a hard bristled brush. I used it to get all the dirt and dust off of him, I sighed. He was so beautiful! Next, I grabbed the soft brush and used that to shine his coat some more. And Finally, I grabbed the hoof pick and mucked out all the dirt and pebbles from his hooves, and made sure his shoes were on tight. "Ready to ride now!" I thought. We only had half an hour left, meaning we had 20 minutes to ride, so I could spend 10 minutes putting him away. I ran back inside the trailer and grabbed my jumping saddle, a shiny 17 Casey D. saddle, my english bridle, his saddle pad and martingale, and my helmet. I set down the tack and slid the saddle pad over his withers, making sure it lined up with where the girth would go, right under his forelegs. I then lifted the Casey D. saddle and slid it over the pad, making sure it was nice and balanced. I then grabbed the girth strap and connected the buckles on one side, then ducked under him an connected the other side. I made sure it was nice and tight. I grabbed the bridle and undid it from the complicated figure eight tie up. I slipped the headband and reins over his ears, the noseband over his nose, and slid the metal bit into his mouth, and he eagerly took it. He loved running and jumping just as much as I did. I latched his chin strap, and almost forgot to put on his martingale, I slid it in through the chin strap and buckled it. I slid the other end of the martingale through his girth strap. After I made sure everything was nice and tight, I rolled down the stirrups and put on my helmet. I undid his lead shank, and mounted up, swinging my right leg over the saddle in one swift motion. I tightened the reins in my hand and used my heels to urge him to go. He instantly took out into a canter, and we cantered around the parking lot, his large hooves sounding like thunder on the asphalt. I was looking around to find something to jump when I heard a loud whistle, "woo woo" . I halted Magyke and look around, I noticed on the far side of the parking lot, was a small gang of boys, about my age. "Great, trouble!" I thought. I ignored them, but they started yelling at me.

"What the hell do you have a horse here for?"

"I am practicing my riding."

"Whatever, you know, what are you practicing for? A pony club?" The tall teenager that was talking snickered and all his friends laughed, except a dark haired freckled boy in the back.

"Actually, I have been in the olympics and I won gold," The boys stopped laughing and gazed at Magyke wonderingly, "I am practicing for a show jumping course in a horse show in kentucky, you know? It is called the English Sectionals, and it is a national show." I snapped at them. I turned Magyke around and started riding away.

"Well sure Like I believe that lady, you haven't done nothing but ride around in circles. If you are an olympic show jumper then jump something!"

"Fine I will!" Just then a large semi truck rolled in the parking lot and parked. A plump man stepped out and went inside the truck stop.

"Jump that!" The teenager said. I surveyed the truck. It was about sixish sevinish feet high. That was easy, I though. With this surface of gravel, it would be really easy to get Magyke to propel himself that high. But with a sand arena, it was much more difficult. I was kind of uneasy about jumping that high, but I was determined to prove to these boy I was an olympic champion.

"Okay, fine I will!" The leader of the gang smirked, while the others looked worried or shocked, especially the dark haired one in the back.

"Maybe you shouldn't" Said the dark haired one

"SHUT UP!," Said the leader, "Let her do it." Everyone silenced and their gaze attached to Magyke and I. I circled around the lot, and stopped about 30 feet away from the truck. I halted Magyke, and looked right at the jump. I was thinking I could pull him into a canter about 15 feet away and let him do the rest of the work. I narrowed my eyes. This was going to be so much fun! I kicked Magyke, signaling him to go into a fast walk. Then I squeezed some more with my heels and leaned forward. He dashed into a canter. We were about 20 feet away now. He cantered slowly at first, but saw the truck, he knew what I wanted him to do. He sped up, flying across the parking lot like a pegasus. He lengthened his strides and threw his neck down for more power. I felt his pounding hooves against the ground. His powerful muscles launched us into the air. I leaned forward in the saddle, almost parallel to the ground and clutched his mane in my hand, my eyes straight forward. I felt his front end lift us up and soar. It was magic! It was over in a second though. He landed and I straightened myself. I didn't slow him down until we reached the gang of boys.

" That was okay," The leader said, "But that fat chunky horse looked liked a elephant flying!" He started laughing waiting for his friends to join in, they never did, they looked at him with an angry look in his eyes. Uh oh, I felt Magyke tense under me, he had heard. H may not know what he said, but he knew it was an insult! He darted forward scattering the boys and chased after the leader, who was running like crazy towards the truck stop. Magyke was angry, and he would not stop, no matter how much I was pulling on the reins and yelling at him to stop! The boy tripped and Magyke reared up, about to smash him, I screamed! "Magyke NO!" But luckily, Magyke's hooves landed about an inch from his head, and he snorted it the boy's face angrily. I dismounted and helped him up.

"Are you okay?" I asked panting with worry.

"Yea fine, S-sorry, I didn't know you were s-serious, v-very s-sorry, bye.." He turned tail and fled down the street. I stood up, too shocked to speak, and grabbed Magyke's bridle. I loved him for protecting us, but I hated him at the same time for scaring the cute black haired freckled boy away. I mounted up and headed back towards the trailer. I untacked Magyke, and gave him a quick grooming. I also re wrapped his legs, then headed inside. My quads were sore from holding on to Magyke while he reared and bolted, trying to trample the head boy of the gang. I was worried I had over worked Magyke, I mean we were 4 days away from the competition, and I didn't want to tire him out. I stomped up to the cracked cement stairs leading up to the truck stop, stomping off the invisible dirt on my riding boots. I entered and saw the plump black lady seated at the ordering counter, and my mum seated at a red and white booth, with two happy meals in front of her. I slid into the booth, the coolness of the fake leather relaxing my legs instantaneously. I grabbed the two happy meals and unwrapped a thick burger from the one closest to me. The sizzling juiciness of the melted cheese and warm beef relieved me of the much stress that had been crowding my mind.

"How was your workout?" she asked me, before taking a bite into her thick burger.

"Very interesting and tiring, I swear I need a curb bit for Magyke, he gets crazy sometimes." I chuckled

I quickly explained what happened in the parking lot to my mother, while devouring three thick burgers, and a serving of fries. God, riding really takes a lot outta' ya.

"What an interesting time you have had here... I really hope you didn't tire Magyke out though."

" I am sure I didn't, he wasn't sweating much, and his legs weren't warm."

"Okay good, that is good." She said "OH! Susanne called, she faxed this place the course for the Sects. Here, when we get there I'll have Bill make a makeshift practice course."

"Okay," I said while grabbing the paper out of her hand. The course looked fairly normal; 24 complicated and high jumps.

The only problem would be the sharp turn to the 22th jump: a high 5'6 foot step down vertical with two weeping willows on either side, creating an illusion that is made to confuse the horse. Grr, we would have to work on that.

"Momma! Those willows are gonna make us loose some time!" I complained

"I know sweety, you'll just have to work on it."

"Ugh, we only have 3 ½ days till the competition!"

"I know, so lets get a move on!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Thunderclaps Equestrian center was H-U-G-E! Like seriously billion dollar estate huge. A mile long driveway followed by giant 10 foot iron gates greeted us as we approached the center. After a guard waved us through, we stopped the car and gaped. Last year the Sects. were held at a smallish but professional stables somewhere in Illinois. This, was over the top. From were we were I could see many many barns, probably filled with two hundred thousand dollars horses. I could also see 4 large and spacious outdoor arenas filled with brightly colored jumps of all assortments and about 10 mini sized hotels for the competitors. Trailers were parked in a large spacious lot, and camera men were everywhere. After all, this was the qualifying round for the olympics. As we proceeded forward Magyke gave a friendly nicker to a large gray danish warmblood gelding, who was super sized like Magyke. The gelding whinnied back and gave a little buck as our trailer passed him. We were in room 14, of the 5th mini hotel place, and Magyke was in stall 14, of the 5th barn. They did this just to keep track of who was who. Magyke was my first priority. As soon as we parked on the gravel in front of the looming red barn, Magyke was kicking and neighing in the trailer as if to say, "Get me out of this prison because I know we have reached our destination!" Well, his vocabulary wouldn't be that enhanced, but it would be something along those lines. I struggled opening the door of the truck, and managed to climb out without breaking anything. I am quite clumsy. Trust me, I've had a lot more than my share of falls. I brushed off my dirt free boots before proceeding, a habit of mine. My mom opened her door and climbed out, dragging my smallish backpack and her suitcase with her. I walked around to the back of the truck, and cautiously opened the rusty handle of the trailer. I opened the door to greet a panicked Magyke butt. He turned his head to gaze at me, his eyes illuminating his fear. He was born to run, and being cooped up in a trailer for hours on end really mess with him. Sometimes I cant even get him to go into his large spacious box stall at home. I hooked the braided red lead rope to his bright red halter and circled him around in the trailer. As soon as his eyes saw the open trailer door, he bolted. The lead rope ripped from my hand, leaving a long puffy rope burn, and I flattened myself against the trailer wall to avoid being crush by a two thousand pound horse. "MAGYKE!: I screamed. I dashed out of the trailer, tripping on the tack box. I rushed outside to see Magyke bolting around, storming towards one of the barns. "STOP HIM!" I screamed at the dazed onlookers. Stables hands lunged for him, missing by a nanosecond. My mom dropped her bags and we ran after him. He was heading towards barn 5, tail and mane streaming behind him like an american flag blowing in the wind. My breath came is short gasps, as my lungs desperately searched for the lacking oxygen. "MAGYKE!" I screamed again. "STOP!" He ran through the open barn door, retrieving many greetings from the boxed up horses. They seemed to say, "Hey, where ya going? Can I come? That looks fun!" By the time we reached the barn, he was no where in sight. We ran out the back door, and what I saw made my heart stop. The seconds ticked by endlessly. Magyke. Oh No. He was racing towards the crowded outdoor arena, eyeing the large, colorful, and incredibly high jumps. The white picket fence and a dozen shocked horses with riders were all that stood in his way. The riders urged their horses to move, some getting out their crops to get the hell out of the way. Magyke leaped the picket fence, red lead rope trailing behind him. The metal reinforcement caught on the fence for a second, but the fence was too thick to hold it, and it slid off easily. Magyke was thundering towards a large cross rail vertical. A 6 foot jump with a cross rail in between two verticals. There were to many rails. He would get caught. He would get hurt. "MAGYKE NO!" I screamed one last time, the desperation in my voice apparent. I started running towards him, but I was too late. His huge, majestic, black body leaped up in a perfect take off, perfect flight, but horrible landing. The lead rope wrapped around the first vertical. But this time the metal reinforcements did not slide off. They locked the lead rope around the rail. I screamed, tears blurring my vision as Magyke's body jerked in mid air, and his back landed with a sickening crush on the jump. The rail broke in half, and Magyke screamed in pain. "NOO!"

When I saw Magyke's gracefulness be jerked in midair a little piece inside of me died. I ran to him. He was still. His eyes reflected his glazed pain. He was laying in a pool of blood over a broken jump, his face still being pulled upward by the halter. I pulled out my pocket knife and cut the tangled lead rope. His tensed body immediately relaxed. "Call a vet!" I screamed.

"On their way" Someone called out. The thing that struck me way how this person said _their. _Meaning more than one vet. It is the law to have two vets present to put a horse down. No. I would not think like that. A few minutes later a couple of vets showed up, along with a emergency medical horse transport truck, and a couple dozen volunteers and technicians. A middle aged man approached me, his hair just starting to gray, his blue eyes showing much sympathy. "Hi, I am Dr. Geoffrey Martin. This is your horse..."

"Magyke," I said. "His name is Magyke." My throat stopped, not allowing me to talk. Dr. Martin just nodded.

"We need to get him up, see how serious his injuries are. You may have to delay the competition. Another horse is lame, so it is already delayed a week or two." Said Dr. Martin.

"Hey Steve, gather up some volunteers, we need to get Magyke up. No broken bones or sprains, but this blood is worrying me."

"Kay" Steve called. I looked down at Magyke, his pain embracing me and pulling me towards him. "Hey, Hey, Its gonna be alright baby boy. I'll look after you." I whispered into his furry black velvet ears, My hands wrapping into his long and wavy black mane, trying to hold the pain inside me. Dr. Martin attached the now untangled reinforced lead rope and starting pulling on Magyke. "Come on, up an at em." He grunted. More volunteers were behind Magyke, clearing the broken rails and pushing him up. When he finally heaved himself upward, another piece of me died again.

Magyke had a splinter the size of a freaking ruler through his back. A piece of broken rail form the jump.

" Lusa, Magyke will be fine. The rail hasn't punctured anything but the skin. He's lost a lot of blood though. We'll take him back to the OR and remove it, give him some stitches and some blood, and he'll be perfectly fit to ride in a couple of days. You are incredibly lucky, both of you. It could of hit a nerve in his spine, and then we would have had to put him down." Dr. Martin said as some technicians were helping load Magyke into the trailer. They had cut down the rail in his back a lot. And this time, he walked right up into the trailer and didn't throw a fit. Maybe his injury taught him to ignore his trailer fetish. "Will he be able to compete?" My mom asked.

"Mommm!," I said, "As long as he is okay, there is always next year."

"Okay, Okay Im sorry." She replied.

"He'll be able to compete in a week or two. Start out exercising him lightly, and you'll have to wear a special saddle pad so it doesn't rub on his stitches, but he should be fine. The rail didn't go deep."

Dr. martin was my new best friend. After Magyke was all loaded up into the large trailer, I hopped in with him. He was not going to go through this alone.


End file.
